Cabal

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In the little town of Palomo Grove, two great armies are amassing; forces shaped from the hearts and souls of America. In this New York Times best-seller, Barker unveils one of the most ambitious imaginative landscapes in modern fiction, creating a new vocabulary for the age-old battle between good and evil. Carrying its readers from the first stirring of consciousness to a vision of the end of the world,
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Mr. Hood's Holiday House has stood for 1,000 years, welcoming countless children into its embrace. It is a place of miracles and blissful rounds of treats and seasons, where every childhood whim may be satisfied.… There is a price to be paid, of course, but young Harvey Swick, bored with his life and beguiled by Mr. Hood's wonders, does not stop to consider the consequences. It is only when the House shows it's darker face - when Harvey discovers the pitiful creatures that dwell in its shadows - that he comes to doubt Mr. Hood's philanthropy.

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Harry Keogh is the man who can talk to the dead, the man for whom every grave willingly gives up its secrets, the one man who knows how to travel effortlessly through time and space to destroy the vampires that threaten all of humanity.

A list of chapter titles for other listeners

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It is only when the bones of its prey are discovered in a remote Scottish glen that the majesty and power of one of nature’s most successful predators is truly revealed. As it strikes silently from the shadows and on nights shrouded in darkness, a small village falls under siege to a remarkable creature. For thousands of years mankind has had the upper hand but now - suddenly, violently, bloodily - the balance of power has shifted.

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Great book.

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Publisher's Summary

Cabal is the story of Boone, a tortured soul haunted by the conviction that he has committed atrocious crimes. In a necropolis in the wilds of Canada, he seeks refuge and finds the last great creatures of the world - the shape-shifters known as the Nightbreed. They are possessed of unearthly powers-and so is Boone. In the hunt for Boone, they too will be hunted. Now only the courage of this strange human can save them from extinction. And only the undying passion of a woman can save Boone from his own corrupting hell...

Good Monsters. Mostly.

Clive Barker’s "Cabal" is a dark fable where the humanity of monsters is balanced against the monstrosity of human behavior. Boone, a man with a mental disorder, is led to believe that he is responsible for a number of hideous murders. He flees to a small town called Midian in search of a society of monsters that live under a cemetery. There he discovers that some humans are far more monstrous than the creatures known as the Nightbreed. Yet while the Nightbreed are sympathetic, they certainly aren’t safe.

This was actually my first experience with one of Clive Barker’s novels, but it will not be my last. While the book is far from perfect -- Boone himself is something of a bland protagonist, I would’ve preferred more description of Midian’s underground society, and I think Barker flinches at a choice near the end -- "Cabal" gets quite a bit right, and it makes up for any missteps with a very visceral listen. There are buckets of blood and gore and organs described in all the splatterpunk carnage you’d expect from the late 80s (it was originally published in 1988). There’s also a startling, fierce, and hungry sexuality. In the opening of the book, we learn that Boone and Lori, two very beautiful young people trying to fit in with society, have difficulty in bed. As we witness Boone becomes more of a monster, we see these characters draw closer in ways they weren’t able to before.

Chet Williamson has the voice of an old time radio dramatist, and it ends up serving this story well. Initially, I wasn't sure if his square-jawed voice was the right one for this book. But Williamson's steady, no frills reading won me over in the end, providing a nice foil between the monsters and the monstrous.

"Cabal" is a story where the monsters, despite being grotesque and violent, are far more sympathetic than the majority of the humans we encounter. In Barker's tale, it's tough and dangerous being an outsider or someone different, but it's also unquestionably good.

A Novella From the Master of Horror

What did you like best about Cabal? What did you like least?

Like him or not, nobody can deny that Clive Barker has fantastic ideas for stories. The story theme of monsters (of the night, aka The Nightbreed) hiding below ground from the monsters above (humans) offers a great juxtaposition of just who are the real monsters in the story.That said, the characters are somewhat weak, we don't really find out needed information about the backgrounds of different characters and why they have become what they are; at least not enough to form any sense of relatability. The timeline seems to be spotty, either moving too fast or missing pieces in between scenes.It almost seems like maybe Cabal should have been made into a novel. I think there was enough, withmore detail and more spacing to do so, but instead the whole thing feels, short and rushed.Still, Barker is Barker and he has his moments of prose in Cabal that make it good. It may not be his best work, but it certainly isn't bad either. The idea Barker presents about just whom the real monsters in this world are is enough to warrant three stars.

Was Cabal worth the listening time?

Yes. Even though I gave it three stars, it is still worth listening to, even if just to be familiar with Barkers early works.

Any additional comments?

It's an ok listen, just understand it isn't as good as some of his works released around the same time (Books of Blood, Damnation Game).

Good, not great

This is far from Barker's best work. It doesn't have a whole lot of substance but at least a couple of the characters are fleshed out pretty well. There are a few graphic sections where Barker always shines and does not disappoint here but the story between these events seems relatively uninspired compared to his other work. It is still a good read overall, deserving of 3 stars.

I did not care much for the narrator here. He was not completely subdued, but I prefer a more animated performance.

Not his worst

I'm a fan of Clive Barker's works so please don't think this is a negative review.

It's a good story from an earlier time in his career.His Abarat series is great as is The Great and Secret Show and Imajica.This is a pretty straight forward story with not a lot of mystery.As is most of Clive's work, the story has the theme of a hidden world of sorts.

The narration was not the greatest. I would have enjoyed Scott Brick or Simon Vance.

very good

Wonderful early Clive Barker work

I am a big fan of Clive Barker, I remember reading this book some years ago, and was interesting to hear it again now. It's a very good story and shows off the incredible imagination Barker had (at least in his earlier works!). Boone, the protagonist, is a tortured soul... he runs away from his mental demons and meets up with very real demons, both human and supernatural.

The book is short and Barker doesn't really go into dept or any deep backstory on the many characters we encounter, which is a shame as some are fascinating and the reader is left wanting to know more. A sequel would be great!

Chet Williamson did a good job with the narration, slow and steady nothing too animated.

*I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this honest review.